Chapter 10-Choices to Make

Jiraiya looked at his new pale white arm to replace the one he lost. It was given to him by the Akatsuki. It was some byproduct based on the strange creature Zetsu. He wanted to inquire about it, but Jiraiya knew he was pushing his luck for even being in Ame, where the heart of the Akatsuki was located. The leader of the Akatsuki, Pein, who was once his former student Nagato, was not happy to see him. Nor was Konan. It was surprising to say the least that two of his three students back during his time in Ame were not only alive, but had become so strong. Add Pein having the Rinnegan of all things and had been the one to kill Hanzo nearly blew his mind.

Naturally, the rest of the Akatsuki was not so thrilled to see him. Some wanted him dead for one reason or another. Others thought Jiraiya was now a joke given how he had been thrown out of Konoha. The same could be said regarding the Toads, who had not been pleased with him shortly after the Sannin reverse summoned himself to their domain. The Toads had given him their own beating for his actions against Naruto before they threw Jiraiya away and ending his contract with them. With nowhere else to go in his given state, Jiraiya did the only thing he could do at this point.

Join the Akatsuki.

Jiraiya wondered if this was how Orochimaru felt when he fled Konoha once the village found out about his questionable experiments. Did he feel anger? Rage? Hate? Did he loathe the Sandaime as much as Jiraiya was loathing both Tsunade and Naruto right now? Loathe them for their inability to see what he did? Loathe them for not doing what was best for Konoha and seeing the prophecy come to fruition in a way where Konoha was the uncontested winner in its outcome? How could they not see the prophecy needed to be fulfilled, but in a certain way where all other villages were weakened, broken, or even conquered by Konoha in the end?

How could they not seize the opportunity to grab power and become Gods?

"You are fortunate we are feeling merciful Jiraiya. I personally feel we should have killed you and left your broken body in a ditch somewhere before setting it on fire," remarked Konan coldly while Jiraiya grimaced since he recalled the lengthy discussion the group had with each other before they made their final decision.

To think it was practically three years ago since that day he was given the choices by Tsunade for his actions against Naruto. Exile or death. Three years ago when he chose to flee and seek help from the Akatsuki to protect him. Of course, Jiraiya intended to use them as much they were going to use him. It was to be expected. So Jiraiya gave them what they wanted to know about Naruto. How he had changed? What caused it? How was the Kyuubi free from the seal? Everything. In exchange? Protection. A chance to heal and implant a new arm made from one of the White Zetsu copies. It was a little weird and a bit disturbing to have such a foreign thing being attached to his body to replace the missing limb Naruto took from him.

But beggars couldn't be choosers at this point and Jiraiya was the beggar in this case.

"Well considering how I did give you information about Naruto, I would say it was a fair trade," remarked Jiraiya with Konan narrowing her eyes at him.

"While you are apart of the organization, we do not trust you Jiraiya. Your information, while informative to a point, is still questionable. If you betray us, your death will not be quick or clean," warned Konan before she left the Sannin to adjust to his knew arm.

'This has to be done. The prophecy must be fulfilled. My name will be revered beyond all others until the end of time when it happens. I won't accept anything less,' thought Jiraiya with a scowl on his face.

He saw the images of his sensei, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Kushina, and even Minato being able to become better at something over himself. It was infuriating at first since Jiraiya always tried to prove he wasn't the loser or failure that Orochimaru always said he was when they were part of Team 7. When he tried writing, his first book was considered a failure by most while the Icha Icha Paradise Series was received with mixed reviews. Most male readers loved it, but the entire female population hated it? Which wasn't really fair in his mind since he was showing off the beauty of women. So what if the man was peeping on them in the hot springs, bath houses, and used the sex he had in brothels for inspiration. So what if he was, in some technician sense, violating these women in some shape or form. He was Jiraiya the Gallant and a Sannin. Such ethical and moral things were beneath him.

(Konoha-Hokage Tower)

Tsunade was sighing happily at finally having her paperwork being finished and in nearly record time. Not surprising given how the Shinobi and Civilian Council had been using the bureaucracy of their positions to make the mountain of paperwork increasingly high. No doubt done to keep the Hokage (whether her or the Sandaime during his time) from ever making any real progress in improving Konoha. Plenty of bureaucratic red tape used to in a way that would remove either Council from a position of power.

However, due to the actions of the Shinobi Council and the Civilian Council when they started to do their own bitching, Tsunade had enough. She had them all arrested and had Ibiki and Anko go all out on them to know exactly what they were doing (or lack there of) with their positions while her sensei had been in charge.

Not surprising, Ibiki easily made them all sing. Even less surprising was what Ibiki found in terms of the crimes they committed. The Civilian Council was corrupt. No question about it. They had been pilfering money from Konoha for years. Seeking protection from Danzo, Homura, and Koharu in exchange for their protection. Not that it really mattered. Koharu had revealed during her own "session" with Ibiki that Hiruzen already knew, but still indulged all of them in order to use it should they ever need such ammunition. Not only that, but some of the Civilian Council had been aware of Danzo's various projects within Root and were funding said projects with the stolen money. The reason? These projects were meant to prolong natural life well beyond the normal parameters. While those working on the project were nowhere near the level of Orochimaru in terms of genius, they were still attempting to push things to reach the desired level of progress the Sannin would achieve in half the time.

Seeing as how most, if not all of the Shinobi and Civilian Council had wrinkly skin, gray hair, and the signs of aging horribly over time, it was expected. Given most of them had decrease in muscle mass, bad back, poor eye sight, failure of vital organs one place or another, it was no surprise some of them funded such projects. They didn't want to kick the bucket just yet. They wanted to live long lasting lives and in their cushy positions even longer regardless of how unethical the experiments were since lives were ruined or killed as a result.

Good thing they were all dead right now so such a thing was a moot point.

Speaking of such things, Tsunade knew the Uchiha brat was still rotting in his cell. All the while spewing anger and hate out of his mouth. "Uchiha Clan is superior" this! "The Uchiha Clan will be avenged" that! It was infuriating to no end. Sometimes she wondered why the brat was even alive.

Oh yeah. Sasuke's damn Sharingan. How could she forget? The people and the Uchiha went on about the damn Dojutsu.

Even after all this time, the brat still had supporters in Konoha wanting him to be released and blaming Naruto for everything that happened to Sasuke. Why were people so stupid in regards to Jinchuriki (former or current) and the Uchiha Clan being filled with arrogant jerks?

And like all jerks, they also tried to make Naruto's life, and the life of all those close to him miserable. Sometimes, they were harassed, called names, and even had food or rocks thrown at them when walking in the streets. In the last three years, over three hundred mobs and riots had formed just for one reason or another in the hopes of bringing Naruto along with his loved ones down.

And true to form, Naruto showed them no mercy in destroying them all in violent brutal ways worthy of his position. Hence why the number of supporters for Sasuke had thinned considerably over the years and those who denounced Naruto were not as strong.

Difficult to do when you were dead or brutally maimed beyond healing.

"You can't put it off any longer Tsunade-sama. The Uchiha just won't stay quiet while he is locked in his cell," said Shizune knowing Tsunade decided to give Sasuke a chance to redeem himself, even if the Uchiha was going to squander it.

"Can't say I didn't try," said Tsunade since she did try to get the Uchiha to see things her way regarding Konoha and the truth of what really happened to his clan.

Only to throw it back at her. First, Sasuke called Tsunade liar. How the Senju were trying to slander the Uchiha Clan name. How she was trying to make sure the clan was stained with dishonor. Of course, the Sandaime Hokage's journal showed the proof she needed to shatter Sasuke's words. Not that it stopped his ranting, as the boy's mind twisted further to embracing the idea of the Uchiha Clan preparing a coup over denying it. Sasuke was soon ranting about the greatness of the Uchiha Clan. How everyone feared it. How they feared his clan's power and corrupted Itachi into doing what no one else in Konoha could do to the Uchiha Clan.

Tsunade told him how he should keep it to himself. How if word reached the Akatsuki of Itachi's true allegiance, they would kill him on the spot. There is always a possibility of that happening due to Jiraiya having joined the group three years ago. Itachi had sent Tsunade a secret communiqué informing her of Jiraiya becoming a member after very heated debate over whether or not to include him happened. He also requested additional orders since the (secretly) loyal Uchiha was not expecting Jiraiya to be apart of it. All she could do was reply back telling Itachi to stay put, but keep his eyes out for any signs of being setup in a trap.

Fortunately, Jiraiya had been too focused on getting into the Akatsuki and using them to strike back against Naruto to focus on revealing Itachi to being Konoha's spy within the group. Though for how long was unknown. Jiraiya, in his own twisted, stupid, and utterly perverted (in more ways then one), if not moronic way of thinking, was loyal to Konoha.

A strange warped version of it at any rate.

Jiraiya had hoped to bring it into reality while casting down the one it had become along with those in it that try to resist. To bring about what he perceived Konoha should be and remove those who were not worthy of it. Inoichi had believed that this happened due to the Sandaime had neglected Jiraiya a great deal during their younger years and young adult years due to Tsunade being a Senju and Orochimaru being a Prodigy. Yet the Toad Sannin spent a great deal of his adult life doing everything he could to gain the old man's acknowledgement. As such, the Sandaime had manipulated Jiraiya (discreetly) to being completely loyal to his way of thinking in the process. Not hard to do when Orochimaru going rogue and with Tsunade leaving Konoha (via their own machinations) to go drink and gamble.

Hiruzen had used Jiraiya's thirst for acknowledgement to make the Sannin believe the Hokage needed him as the years went by. How could Jiraiya refuse? When the Sandaime took back the hat and hatched the scheme to keep Naruto controlled, Jiraiya jumped at the chance in order to monopolize his sensei's good graces. Especially given how the Elder Toad's prophecy around Naruto could end badly for the village and neither man wanted it to go bad. It was the perfect way for Jiraiya to prove his continued loyalty and gain the Sandaime's praise for a job well done.

Hence why Hiruzen's plan to keep Naruto's potential suppressed for the most part and Jiraiya making sure any progress in his later years was monitored and controlled. Once the prophecy was fulfilled, Jiraiya had standing orders from the Sandaime to have the boy "disposed of", which entailed being locked away in a seal room, in a coma, and having several women impregnated with his children with the unlucky baby (regardless of the gender) chosen to have the Kyuubi sealed inside of them.

Tsunade wished she could bring her sensei back from the dead, if only beat him to death without mercy in a slow and painful manner. Even from beyond the grave, the fool was making problems for her and would no doubt feel no regrets on the issue if alive to see what his actions set in motion following his death.

Shoving thoughts about her sensei away, Tsunade walked toward the prison cells where Uchiha Sasuke was being held and guarded by a small group of ANBU. There orders were to kill the boy instantly should he successfully make it out of the cell. Not that he could. This cell was laced with charka seals, which drained all but the amount needed for someone to stay alive. The Uchiha had been chakra draining shackles and weights with a chain attached to the floor in the center of the small room. A collar with an explosive seal was on the brats neck that could be triggered if the brat escaped his cell and the prison section he was currently in. It also had a failsafe built in where attempting to remove it would trigger the explosive seal.

"Has the prisoner said anything?" asked Tsunade while staring at the door.

"Just the usual Hokage-sama. We were actually wondering if you could put a seal on him that would make the brat stop talking for the rest of his life," said ANBU Bear while the Senju woman thought about it.

"At this point, we might as well consider such a thing due to his ramblings," commented Tsunade before the door was opened to find their prisoner within it.

"So the mighty Hokage graces me with her presence once more. How thoughtful," said Sasuke from his position in the cell while Tsunade scowled at the traitor.

"Considering how no one else has visited you since being locked up, I'm being generous with my visits," replied Tsunade with Sasuke chuckling.

"Really? You're not just coming in here to make sure I haven't escaped? To make sure your worst nightmare, if freed, is still in his prison? His cage? Like some animal?" asked Sasuke while Tsunade smirked.

"First off, you can't escape here Uchiha. Second, your not even a threat to a child at this point after all the precautions we took once locked up. Third, even if you did get out of your cell, there are still numerous fail safes all over your body to ensure you don't leave this building alive. Fourth, you deserve to be locked up like a rabid animal after acting like one up until this point. You were very lucky no one had to stomach, smarts, or the courage to lock you up or put you down up until now. The only reason no one did was the hope you would one day find a woman to make little baby Uchiha with and they would bring your clan back to greatness," replied Tsunade with Sasuke scowling.

"Get me out of here. Give me the power to kill that loser. Give me what I want and I will give this village a thousand children from as many loose women I can find to carry my clan's seed," offered Sasuke with Tsunade scoffed.

"You had your chance to repopulate your clan Uchiha and blew it. Nearly every girl your age had some kind of dream growing up in becoming your wife. They dreamed of giving you a small army of little Uchiha children. All you had to do was be a good little brat growing up, become a Shinobi, a man, and it all would have happened. And what do you do instead? You decide to go rogue. Leave Konoha on your stupid little quest to find and kill Itachi while seeking out Orochimaru's bases to take what was left behind as your own in some quest for vengeance. You just could not wait until you were older to do things the right way," countered Tsunade with Sasuke glaring even harder.

"I don't want to kill Itachi anymore. Not after I learned the truth. Of what Konoha did to my clan," said Sasuke while he sent an accusing glare at Tsunade, as if she was the one who gave the order.

"Don't give me that look brat. I wasn't even in the village when it happened. My sensei did along with Danzo and the Elders. Instead of simply removing all of those who were plotting the coup against Konoha, they had the stupid idea of killing off everyone. Itachi only agreed to it because he loved you and wanted your life spared. He was tasked with doing what few would have the courage to pull off and wanted to repent with his life by having you be the one to end him. He placed the Uchiha Clan's future on your shoulders, but the village twisted his hopes and dreams of what you would become growing up. The village turned you into a spoiled, arrogant brat, who thinks the whole world deserves to submit to his wishes every single time," replied Tsunade with Sasuke snarling.

"The world should submit to me. To my clan. For taking everything from me in life. I lost everything and Konoha is responsible. The village debt to my clan must be paid and with interest," said Sasuke with Tsunade narrowing her eyes at him.

"And what about the rest of the people in the world? The ones who suffered far worse? If you deserve something back as claimed, why do they have to take a backseat to their own entitlements?" asked Tsunade while Sasuke scoffed and glared harder.

"No one has suffered more and you know it!" exclaimed Sasuke with Tsunade not even looking intimidated.

"Oh really? You think your clan was the only one wiped out in the history of the Shinobi world. How many Shinobi wars have we had? Oh yes, three! In those three wars since the founding the Shinobi way, major clans from all over have been reduced to a mere trickle. Villages and homes have been wiped out. Nearly destroyed. Kiri has had a bloodline civil war, which caused the entire annihilation and genocide of various clans with no one to carry one their legacy in the years to come. Are you going to tell me that those people who were hit by all these things and even managed to live through them didn't suffer worse then you?" countered Tsunade with Sasuke snarled.

"No one has suffered worse. No one! Any suffering those people went through was a pale comparison to what I went through. No one can compare their suffering to mine and my clan. Everyone else is beneath us! Beneath me!" exclaimed Sasuke with his mind clearly not being all there and the insanity showing in his eyes.

"You've clearly lost your mind," commented Tsunade with Sasuke struggling to get out of his chains, if only to put on a show of defiance to her.

"Get these chains off of me and I will prove how right I am," challenged Sasuke while Tsunade scoffed.

"Nice try Uchiha. You haven't been able to train for roughly three years. Your meals are just enough to keep you alive. Your muscles are weak, your skin is deathly pale, and your body had become thin and sickly. You can't even properly form a single Jutsu if given the chance," remarked Tsunade with Sasuke growling angrily since she was right.

"I don't need to fight you to win. All I have to do is tell people the truth. The truth about how my clan were butchered by those in charge of this village. The truth that this village screwed my clan and my brother over. We'll see what people have to say about this filthy place once they hear the truth," countered Sasuke while Tsunade smirked.

"Are you sure? Are you sure you want people to hear the whole truth. How the Uchiha Clan was going to rebel against Konoha? How they refused any kind of negotiations and wanted to take control of the village with everyone not an Uchiha being made a slave?" challenged Tsunade since she had read through Fugaku's personal journal her sensei had obtained following the Uchiha Clan's liquidation.

She knew the only reason her former disgrace of a sensei even kept the damn thing in his office was in the off chance the decision to wipe out the Uchiha had to be justified to the public eye.

"An Uchiha doesn't barter or negotiate. That is for weaklings. An Uchiha takes what we want and kill anyone that stands in our way. It has been like this since the Warring Clans Era and all the way back to when the Uchiha Clan was found. Taking and having power is the only thing that matters," said Sasuke while Tsunade sighed at how pathetic the boy sounded.

"You are an idiot. Absolute power corrupts absolutely Uchiha. Say you obtained power and became some walking God like entity. Don't you think other people will be aiming to take you down? One way or another? What if you have children with the same mind set as you and see your presence as an obstacle standing in their way? Are you going to kill your own children to stay on top? Are you going to let them kill you so they can stand on top of the mountain? Absolute power and ambition does not recognize blood relations," said Tsunade with Sasuke's glare growing more evil looking.

"I don't need 'blood relations' anymore. Even if I don't hate Itachi anymore. Even if he had his 'reasons', I don't need him. I just need power. Power to dominate others. Power to rule over the world. Power to live forever. What I need, is the power...of a GOD!" replied Sasuke with Tsunade shaking her head in disappointment.

"Just as I thought. After all time, the fool is a lost cause," whispered Tsunade to herself before leaving the room.

"Orders Hokage-sama?" asked Bear with Tsunade closing her eyes for second.

"As far as the rest of the world knows, Uchiha Sasuke is going to be spending the rest of his days here in this prison cell. But officially? After today, with his mind too far gone, and his dark ambitious view on life being something that would make even Orochimaru green with envy...he is going to be executed. Privately," said Tsunade with Bear nodding since the Uchiha brat had been ranting from his cell since being put in there and clearly lost his mind.

Death was a merciful act at this point. Both for brat the and for them.

"How will he meet his end?" asked Bear with Tsunade thinking it over.

"Through Poison. Tasteless. It will shut down his body piece by piece until he loses total consciousness before death takes him. I know of a few that can do the job. I will be back later," said Tsunade with Bear nodding.

No one in the hallway noticed a bird looking down at them with a Sharingan Eye.

(Hokage Tower-Sometime Later)

Tsunade knew something was wrong when Shizune ran into the room, breathing heavily from all the running she just did. Clearly, the woman was terrified from the look on her face and if someone like Shizune was had that look, it didn't mean anything good for the village.

"Tsunade-sama, it is Uchiha Sasuke. He's been freed from his prison!" exclaimed Shizune with Tsunade looking shocked.

"How? When?" By Who?" demanded Tsunade since none of the brat's supporters had the means, muscle, or skill to pull off such a thing.

"One of the ANBU guarding him said it was Itachi and Jiraiya. They killed the almost all of the guards, but Bear held on long enough to report it. He said Itachi dispatched all the other guards while Jiraiya undid the sealing work on Sasuke's body before the left," said Shizune with Tsunade grit her teeth over how easily those two pulled it off.

Of course they would be the ideal pair to break into Konoha to get Sasuke out. Both knew Konoha inside and out. Better then anyone possibly at this point in time. Itachi could beat all the ANBU easily enough and Jiraiya's understanding of Fuinjutsu would help him in removing the backup seals placed on the Uchiha should he ever get out of his cell. The fact Sasuke no longer held ill will toward Itachi must have spurred the older sibling to rescue the other.

But why? Why free Sasuke now? It made no sense. Sasuke was too weak right now to be of any use to them. Even if he was, Tsunade doubted it was for a long term stay within the Akatsuki. Itachi probably asked for it and twisted his reasoning to make himself seem detached or they could use Sasuke for something which benefited the Akatsuki.

Either way, Tsunade didn't like it.

"Lockdown the village. Someone get me Naruto. We need to figure out how Jiraiya and Itachi got into the village so they can't do it again," ordered Tsunade with Shizune giving her a quick nod before leaving the room.

Barely ten minutes later, Naruto walked into the room looking annoyed and pissed off at the same time. Tsunade didn't blame him. He had constantly told her time and time again to forgo any kind of rehabilitation on the Uchiha. To just kill him and be done with it. But Tsunade told him it wasn't possible at the time. At least not yet. The brat was had become an annoyance not only due to his clan name, but because those who supported said clan name.

Of course, with those said ranks thinned considerably over the years to the point where Tsunade could remove the Uchiha quietly. Only for this to happen.

As for Naruto, he was quite peeved at the point. He was at home, having some super sexy fun time with his girls (Hanabi and Konohamaru were out training with Shadow Clones watching them), when it was interrupted by Shizune. He hated when someone interrupted his super sexy fun time. The last person who did that was some kind of salesmen trying to sell his cabbages and both were turned into dust.

Shizune didn't have to worry about that though. He respected her too much to turn her into a bloody smear or ash to be scattered into the wind. Besides, the other women in his life were currently tying Shizune up in a bed and expressing their displeasure using the art of pleasure to turn the woman into goo.

Figuratively speaking.

"So he escaped. Thanks to his brother and Ero-Sennin," deduced Naruto since he felt this might happen in the future.

Or the attempt at any rate.

"Yes. Itachi and Jiraiya entered Konoha somehow and made off with Sasuke after my old teammate removed the seals on his body," said Tsunade with Naruto growled.

"I don't want to say this, but...I told you so," commented Naruto with Tsunade sighing since he had told her so many times before today.

"I know! I know! But killing the brat would have caused problems for us," countered Tsunade with Naruto scoffing.

"Please! His support base ended over a year ago. The people who denounce me, but cheer for him has dwindled down to a trickle. Whether through my actions or the fact the idiot willingly chose to betray Konoha in order to obtain power left he believes was left behind at Orochimaru's bases," commented Naruto with Tsunade being unable to argue that point with him.

In truth, after word got out of Konoha "cleaning house" with a noticeably large portion of the village populace either being locked up or killed, the Fire Daimyo himself decided to visit demanding answers. Apparently, he was hearing rumors or whispers from people in his court about this situation. Cousins or friends of the people dead or locked up and were demanding his assistance on the issue happening in his Shinobi village.

So with that in mind, Tsunade told him everything. From start to finish. How she had to have these people put down or locked up because they were not "loyal" per se when it came to Konoha. Some of those who were locked up turned out to be traitors to Konoha from the start. Revealing details and secrets to Iwa and Kumo in order to spite Tsunade simply for not controlling or punishing Naruto and Kyu simply for existing. Tsunade had gone on about Konoha populace had been slowly poisoned over the years with arrogance that they were invincible. When she tried to make them realize they were being stupid and arrogant, the village populace had tried to secretly and not so secretly go against her.

Hence why they were either killed for treason or locked up for slightly lesser offences.

Of course, the people against Tsunade saw this as possibly their one and only chance of removing Tsunade from office. They had formed a massive protest, or rather as large as they could given their thinned numbers, and tried to get the Fire Daimyo's attention.

Only for it to backfire since the Fire Daimyo had seen all the irrefutable evidence prior to the people rallying in protest of the Hokage. He had to agree with her assessment of the entire situation given how the late Sandaime and Konoha as a whole had handled things regarding Naruto. While not a religious person by nature, even the Fire Daimyo knew it was best to honor a contract with a deity when bargains with one was made.

"Even still, I need you to find out how they got into Konoha so we can seal up the hole they made or found in order to sneak into the village," said Tsunade while Naruto nodded since they couldn't afford to let Jiraiya or anyone from the Akatsuki use the same entry point twice.

(Ame-Akatsuki HQ-Sometime Later)

"He doesn't look like much. Of course, three years in a prison cell does that to people no matter how strong," commented Kisame while Sasuke was dumped into the middle of the room in front of the other members.

"Why did you even bring him here? We don't need another Uchiha among our ranks. It is bad enough we have Itachi here," commented Deidara with a frown on his face.

"Can't I just sacrifice him to Jashin-sama. Granted he's weak and puny, but his bloodline will probably make up for it," added Hidan while Kakuzu made a noise.

"We should hold him in our own prison and wait for Konoha to post some kind of bounty on him. We can collect afterwards," offered Kakuzu since he had a feeling Konoha would put a steep bounty on the Uchiha soon and they could easily obtain some quick cash.

"Enough! The brat lives for now. Itachi, you and Jiraiya will train your brother in order to get him back up to fighting form," ordered Pein with both men nodding.

"Don't worry Pein-sama. My little brother will be up to your standards shortly," replied Itachi while Pein nodded.

"What about the Jinchuriki? Are we going to hunt them down now?" asked Kisame since they had been silent for three years given how Yagura was no longer alive and the three tailed Biju wasn't going to materialize until the third year of its jailer's death.

"Yes. Sasori. Deidara. You will go to Suna. Capture the Kazekage and bring him to the designated rendezvous point we planned to perform the extraction. Hidan. Kakuzu. You two will go to Taki. We will obtain the seven tailed Jinchuriki and keep her locked up until its time for the extraction. Kisame, you will handle the four and five tails in Iwa. Don't play with them. Just capture one or both. Once the one-tailed is secure, we will bait Konoha into sending out the two tailed Jinchuriki for a mission. Konan, you and Tobi will be handling her," said Pein with Konan nodding though she frowned at the mention of Tobi.

With Tobi jumping around and acting like an idiot.

"I can't wait! Tobi is a good boy! Tobi is a good boy!" exclaimed Tobi while many were already annoyed with the man and he just got here.

"How did he even get in?" asked Kakuzu while not caring if the masked man was in the room.

"Special circumstances from which you don't need to know about," answered Pein coldly, which basically told the Akatsuki Treasurer to shut his mouth on the issue.

"Regardless, we need to refocus our efforts on obtaining all of the Jinchuriki from now on. We have waited long enough and delayed the plan for various reasons. Now is the time to strike!" declared Konan while getting the purpose of this meeting back on track.

"Konan is right. The plan is to move forward. I suggest all of you be careful on your own assignments. Just because you have the ability to negate Biju chakra in your own way does not mean you are invincible," added Pein while glaring at Hidan to keep his mouth shut about his God.

"With you being the exception?" asked Hidan sarcastically before being hit with Pein's killer intent.

"I am a God," replied Pein as if it was the only answer that needed to be given.

"All of us will leave immediately," added Konan before the group dispersed while just Itachi, Jiraiya, and Sasuke were left.

"You have no idea how much effort it took to convince Pein to authorize the mission to rescue you Sasuke," commented Itachi while Sasuke glared at him for a second.

"Considering I was wasting away in that prison cell for three years, I can imagine," said Sasuke with Itachi sighing while Jiraiya shook his head.

"You're lucky I know some very creative and unconventional ways to sneak into Konoha when required gaki. Otherwise, you would be in that prison for the rest of your life. Be thankful I know some people who still believe in the cause of making Konoha great again like it was in the old days," said Jiraiya while involuntarily flexing his new hand.

"I don't care about that. I want revenge. On all of them. Tsunade, the Councils, the Clan Heads, their children, and above all else...Naruto," growled Sasuke with Jiraiya frowned at him.

"You'll get strong enough to beat Naruto, but the village is off limits brat. Besides, your clan had it coming with their coup attempt," commented Jiraiya with Sasuke growling louder.

"I am born of Uchiha blood. We were born to rule and dominate. All other bloodlines and people are beneath us," countered Sasuke with Jiraiya sighed.

"And that was exactly why your clan was wiped out. You think everyone and everything is yours for the taking. Its not. Besides, do you think Itachi here agrees with this? Your brother saw the writing on the wall. Your clan would have caused more problems if they enacted their coup or actually pulled it off in the end. You think the Fire Daimyo would have allowed it? He would have marched his army into Konoha and liquidated it before starting fresh," said Jiraiya with Sasuke struggling to stand.

"We had the Kyuubi. My Father could have easily tamed it with his Sharingan and just killed the Fire Daimyo's forces," countered Sasuke while Jiraiya shook his head.

"Wrong again gaki. Your Father's eyes were nowhere near as strong as Madara's own when he used the fox. Even Itachi here would have been able to do it at the time. Besides, if the Biju had been brought to heel by the Sharingan, it wouldn't last. The influence from them is temporary and takes a great deal of chakra to maintain it. Your Father never had it. No one except Madara himself had it. Besides, if your Father ripped the fox out of Naruto, the Shinigami would have made his appearance soon after and found out about my sensei's own actions against Naruto. In short, your clan would have felt the wrath of a very pissed off deity!" answered Jiraiya with Itachi nodding since he new the truth about what the Sandaime did to Naruto and while he never approved of it, could not protest.

"So what happens now?" asked Sasuke while finally being able to stand.

"Simple. We train you right into the ground. With a little luck, patience, and working you just about nonstop, we should get your skills to where they would have been had this not happened," said Jiraiya knowing his time doing "research" was going to take a dive, but if it meant bringing down Naruto to make the prophecy happen in his favor...so be it.

"After I kill Naruto, I want the village to grant me a full pardon and immunity for the act and even throw a grand celebration for it in my honor. I will be made its future Hokage. I also want the women in the loser's life. All of them! I want them to carry my children. I want them to be breeding my progeny nonstop. Any child they have or had with the loser is to be killed a slow and agonizing death," demanded Sasuke with insanity showing in his eyes.

"We will see if that can be worked out," answered Jiraiya with his frown increasing over this issue and watched Itachi take Sasuke away.

Sasuke's mind was clearly gone in terms of sanity. And not just gone. More like it packed its bags and left quickly without so much as a note apologizing for the leaving in the first place. What was worse is the Curse Seal that Orochimaru gave the brat initially couldn't be used as an excuse due to the snake being dead and the influence of the seal with it.

While the brat's mind had been fucked up by Itachi in the boy's childhood, there should have been some form of healing during that time. Either Tsunade refused to make the attempt (which he doubted) or Sasuke rejected the truth and the treatments in order to keep himself in some deranged mental state, which he felt would sustain his own beliefs on what really happened.

Right now, Sasuke hate Konoha for what it did to the clan. It didn't matter if the Uchiha Clan were going to make a coup attempt. As far as Sasuke was concerned, they were in the right to take power. His clan was one of the most feared and respected clans in the world, yet treated with disdain because of their Dojutsu and its ability to steal and copy Jutsu used it is ocular presence.

Jiraiya was actually envious of the eyes and the concept of stealing things from others due to his own nature. So what the Uchiha Clan stole things from others. Jiraiya did it all the time. He stole (A.K.A mooched) money, clothing, and knowledge from people all over the Elemental Countries. Not to mention the dignity of all the women he met one way or another. So what if he stole the likeness of some kunoichi and used it for his latest Icha Icha Paradise book. So what if he sold out some nice people to some bad people for a modest fee and sold out the bad guys later to the local authorities for an even higher fee.

Jiraiya always did what he did in those situations because he had the power to do it and would do what he wanted regardless of the "moral consequences". Not to mention he had always liked doing it regardless of what anyone else thought of him. So in that regard, he could agree with the Uchiha's overall concept of things in stealing from others to become stronger, but only so long as Konoha profited from it in the end. It was why the Sandaime Hokage gave him such leeway in everything Jiraiya did and without being punished for some "hypothetical" crime done in some other country.

The same was said for Danzo. The old mummy may have gotten war wacky in the end after being denied the right to become Hokage, but had always done things to make the village strong. Moral consequences aside of course. Granted, Jiraiya had to admit in the later years, Danzo had made Konoha a quite the list of enemies. But the Sannin had been confident the village's Shinobi and Naruto (when properly conditioned as their weapon) could repel such threats when they attempted to attack Konoha.

Only now, the future Jiraiya had envisioned with the Sandaime was barely seeable in his mind due to Naruto becoming an actual demon. Bringing the Kyuubi out of its seal and treating it like a person. A person! They weren't people. They were mindless beasts! All nine of the Biju were basically charka formed animals and needed to be tamed as such. Beaten into submission. Commanded to obey their Masters and thrown into some closet on a shelf to be used at a later time.

As far as Jiraiya was concerned, Naruto was perverting the vision and dream that had been planned since the Sandaime first became Hokage. Years of planning, scheming, backstabbing, and decisions plotted down to the minute had practically gone to waste. The long lasting peace the Elder Toad had foreseen and told in the prophecy was now out of Jiraiya's reach. His greatness from training (A.K.A. molding and manipulating) Naruto into crushing Konoha's enemies and ending the cycle of possible future wars by wiping out the other villages was ruined. That was how Jiraiya thought Naruto should be trained and taught into bringing peace to the world. Make the boy believe the other villages were the cause of the pain, suffering, and horrors of the world. Create a hero complex in him so he would fight for Konoha and "do the right thing" in order to bring peace to the world by annihilating the village's enemies.

And if the stupid naive boy somehow did figure things out and learn the overall truth of Konoha being the real monster? Well, Jiraiya or the ANBU would have put him down with the rest of Konoha's forces being able to finish what they made Naruto start. By that point, Konoha's enemies would be too weak to fight back and all the Biju would be in the village's possession.

'So much to do for the glory of the true Konoha, my vision of her, and the prophecy that will get me out of everyone else's shadow for all time,' thought Jiraiya while planning to make sure his own dreams become reality.

To be known as the man who trained the Child of Prophecy foretold by the Toads and to finally get the recognition he rightfully deserved.

(With Pein and Konan)

"We both know the brat will fail. No matter how hard Jiraiya and Itachi train him to be at the level you want," remarked Konan with Pein nodding.

"I know. But they are a means to an end. Jiraiya will die by our hands eventually, but we need him despite his...mindset," remarked Pein with Konan looking unsure.

"I suspect Itachi is spying for Konoha. It is no coincidence that Jiraiya knew just how to contact us three years ago and knew of our situation since only our highest members were informed of it," added Konan with Pein nodding again since he suspected the same thing.

"True. And Itachi did vouch for Jiraiya as well. If he is a spy, the Uchiha is possibly the best Konoha has to offer. He used his clan's own massacre to get into our ranks because we wouldn't consider the idea of him sacrificing them to get into the Akatsuki," said Pein with a frown on his face.

"About the Uchiha Massacre, didn't you mention at one point how Tobi was there too? How he confessed to helping Itachi in secret?" asked Konan with Pein frowned further.

"You suspect Tobi knew and allowed Itachi to come into our ranks despite being a spy for Konoha? For what purpose?" asked Pein with Konan shrugging.

"I don't know, but the idea of Tobi using us all for some grand scheme from which only he benefits is the only one I can think of," answered Konan with Pein's eyes narrowing at the implication of Tobi or "Uchiha Madara" trying to play them as puppets for his own secret plans.

Unacceptable.

"And if he is planning something, chances are, Zetsu is in on it too. He has been working with Tobi for some time. Neither can be trusted if they are planning something behind our backs," added Pein with Konan frowning.

"They are too powerful to remove as things currently are now," commented Konan with Pein thinking it over.

"Now being the current term. We must wait and plan accordingly. We must be covert here Konan. Officially, its business as usual with the Akatsuki. But in time, we will have a trap prepared for them in the event our suspicions do in fact become true," said Pein with Konan nodding.

Play along with their "allies" for now until the truth was revealed. Kill revealed traitors later when it a position to kill was right.

(Konoha-Hokage's Office-Two Weeks Later)

"I gave you a chance to get your head out of your ass Kakashi. But the fact you did this just further proves something is wrong in your head," said Tsunade while she looked down at the tied up Jounin.

"I can explain Hokage-sama," whimpered Kakashi with Tsunade growling angrily.

"Explain? Explain what Kakashi? How Jiraiya contacted you? Asked for your help in getting Sasuke out? How you said yes of all things?! How about helping him come up with the way to get into Konoha undetected and steal the Uchiha out from under us? Do you even care that the men guarding the brat are dead? Some you had served with since becoming a Genin at the start of your career?! How the flying fuck can you explain that to me?!" asked Tsunade with Kakashi wincing at each question she laid at his bound feet.

Sasuke's escape had surprised many. Even more so when Jiraiya and Uchiha Itachi were the ones to pull it off. All the high ranking Shinobi from Jounin to ANBU and even the Clan Heads knew the Hokage had been plugging up every hole, leak, and means to get into Konoha. So for those two S-ranked men to get inside of the village after such a major security overhaul meant someone on the inside had helped them get into the village.

A traitor high up there with Orochimaru and Madara.

"I can only explain what I can. Jiraiya said Sasuke needed to be freed. He said Naruto was going to destroy the natural order of thing. How he had to be stopped. How the Elder Toad's prophecy was misinterpreted until recently. Jiraiya said someone he trained would seek to destroy the Shinobi world and another student would be the one to save it. With Naruto becoming a demon of such incredible power with several powerful Biju backing him, Jiraiya believed he was the former while Sasuke could be the latter if his bloodline was allowed to develop to its fullest," said Kakashi while Tsunade growled even louder.

"And you believed him?" asked Naruto, who was behind Kakashi with the fingers in his right hand twitching slightly with the impulse to rip the man's spine out of his body.

"Not at first. But, I had no reason to believe he was lying. He was sensei's sensei after all," replied Kakashi which earned him a growl from Naruto.

"If you didn't believe him right away, why didn't you see fit to warn your Hokage about this?" asked Naruto with Kakashi with the man being silent for a moment.

"Because a part of me wanted him to be right. A part of me was hoping he was right about Naruto and Sasuke," answered Kakashi in a defeated tone.

"So you could honor Obito's memory. Why is his memory more important over Minato's own?" asked Tsunade with Kakashi glancing back at Naruto.

"Because like the rest of the village, I hated Naruto too. My hatred for him outweighed my love for my sensei. Even before his change. Everyday I saw Naruto grow and try to push himself to get stronger, I saw Minato-sensei. I saw the past. I saw what I had lost. I saw what I believed was the reason my sensei wasn't alive anymore. I initially wanted to take care of Naruto after his birth, but the Sandaime would let me do it. Said I was too emotionally unstable. How he needed me to be in ANBU and work from the shadows until Konoha could return to full strength. When I refused to leave Naruto alone, he told me the fox escaped that night due to Kushina's pregnancy. He said Naruto's birth caused it all and Minato-sensei wouldn't have died had his son not been born," said Kakashi with Tsunade growling.

"Turn your love into hate. A hate that was allowed to fester and grow like a cancer," said Naruto with Kakashi nodding.

"I knew I shouldn't have let such things get to me. I know the difference between a kunai and a scroll. When you spend as much time with Fuinjutsu Masters as I did, not knowing the difference would make me the stupidest person in the village if not the world," replied Kakashi with Naruto scoffing.

"No. Just damn well close to it. I would have thought after all the shit that happened and the truth revealed, your mindset would have changed," commented Naruto with Kakashi sighing.

"And it did. Everything that happened to you, the truth that was hidden by the Sandaime and Jiraiya along with the Elders with their own agenda. But Jiraiya...he said it was all done to fulfill a higher calling. A higher purpose. How Naruto was standing in the way of Konoha's prosperity and greatness with his life not being controlled or dictated to a plan set in motion long before his birth. He said if we didn't set things back to the natural order of things, it would mean the end of not only Konoha, but the very world as we know it," explained Kakashi with Tsunade scoffed at her former teammates words since he would try to portray things in such a manner.

"Meaning Jiraiya's way of doing things his sensei wanted and keep the natural order as he sees them. With Jinchuriki as weapons of war, tools to be used and abused for as long as they have usage. Not to mention keeping anyone who don't like the status quo in chains or in the ground dead. Not to mention his name doesn't get recognized through the ages as the one who taught the so called 'Child of Prophecy' and getting him out of the shadow everyone else around him. My Mother, Father, the Sandaime, Orochimaru, Itachi, and even you Tsunade cast an incredibly large shadow over him. He wants his own that will dwarf all of them by far. If the 'Child of Prophecy' won't play ball, he'll find someone else to try filling that position while killing the predecessor to the tile," said Naruto since he knew the Sannin has inner security issues with his own person and how growing up to be considered a second and third string Shinobi in terms of celebrity or infamous (depending on the point of view of people) status when compared to others.

Every Shinobi village had a spy network. Jiraiya's own was just more effective despite him treating some of his contacts with little respect. Namely those who were women. As for Fuinjutsu, while it was considered difficult to understand or do, the Yondaime and his wife along with the rest of the Uzumaki Clan (when they were around) had outclassed the Sannin's work several times over.

And don't get people started on his writing. It was smut. No plot. Just porn being written down from a dirty mind. And peeping on women in order to get "inspiration" no less with none of the women get reparations for it. Jiraiya peeped on them and used their likeness and forms without their consent. It was as close to rape as you could get without it being rape while being more along the lines of stealing.

Still, it was hardly the point. Not to mention it didn't exactly put Jiraiya in a positive light considering he usually thought with his second tiny head that was between his legs over his equally if not tinier brain. Jiraiya cared more about the pleasures of the female flesh over actually training to get stronger.

Naruto felt if he actually put in as much effort into being a Shinobi as he did in being a self proclaimed Super Pervert, the man would actually be worthy of the respect his ego demanded of him.

It was a shame Jiraiya had to drag other people like Kakashi down with him.

"I want to help. I want to make amends for this," said Kakashi while Tsunade narrowing her eyes at him.

"And you think I will let you have another chance? You had it three years ago Kakashi. I almost thought you were going to pull it off, but you caved. You knew better from day one and you threw away any chance to make things right. The only real option before me right now, is to ensure you don't do it again. Ever!" stated Tsunade with Kakashi's eye going wide in shock.

"Hokage-sama, please reconsider this decision. I am a loyal Shinobi of Konoha. I can still be an asset to the village if you let me," pleaded Kakashi with Tsunade's eyes narrowing.

"After what you did? What you helped Jiraiya do? No! You will be dealt with and plans will be made to combat the Akatsuki. Take him away!" commanded Tsunade with a pair of ANBU taking Kakashi away to deal with later.

"We have time Tsunade. In Sasuke's current condition, Jiraiya will have to train the fool nonstop everyday for months if not years on end. And that is after they get him medical attention to help combat his declining health from rotting in he dungeon," said Naruto knowing Sasuke wasn't in the best of health and wouldn't be long after he recovered from being locked away for so long.

"Agreed. But the Akatsuki can still cause damage during that time to give the Uchiha a means to get stronger to possibly fight you on even terms," said Tsunade with Naruto scoffing.

"The fool can train for a century straight under Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Uchiha Madara himself for all I care. He can't reach my level. He never could reach it without someone trying to lower mine first," stated Naruto while still slightly angry how it took nearly an entire village, its corrupt Hokage, and various other factors to keep him so weak.

"We can't let this action go without a response. We need to track down and finally crush the Akatsuki before they can do more damage," said Tsunade with Naruto grimacing due to the fact that the Akatsuki weren't the only issue.

"That's all well and good, but you do know of the other issues aside from the Akatsuki that is making our live difficult," commented Naruto with Tsunade groaning since she had forgotten for a moment.

Iwa and its damn old fart for a Tsuchikage had learned of Naruto's heritage and had spent the last few years stomping their feet angrily. It didn't matter that Naruto had gone toe to toe with the Raikage of Kumo and won. Or faced a S-class demon in Spring. Or quite a few other deeds worthy of praise. Iwa wanted Naruto dead for the "sins" of his Father in the last war and intended to get it through the man's son.

Or at the very least tried with several squads of Iwa Jounin and ANBU being annihilated when Naruto was out on missions. Naruto had made it clear to Iwa and the Tsuchikage that sending its Shinobi after him was basically signing the death warrants for each one on the teams sent to kill him. Of course, Iwa became irate over the issue, demanding the Yondaime's son be handed over to them or face another war between them.

Konoha of course sent a long letter with a very long list of reasons why Iwa would lose said war and be crushed without mercy if they try anything.

Konoha had two Biju to match Iwa's own two.

The former Jinchuriki of one said Biju was stronger than both.

Konoha's own Shinobi force was the strongest its been since its founding.

They had a long list of allies who would gladly provide aid in putting Iwa in its place.

Needless to say, Iwa backed off, at least officially, in terms of wanting to fight Konoha for the chance to kill Naruto. However, Onoki was a stubborn old man, who let his own stubbornness imprint itself into his Shinobi. He also imprinted patience onto them despite the bloodthirsty feelings bubbling inside of Iwa once Naruto's heritage was discovered.

So they would be patient and wait. Wait until the time was right to strike out against the son of the Yondaime.

"Iwa will keep their distance for now. Besides, with Suna being between them and us, the Tsuchikage knows we will have time to retaliate against him. The man always weighs all of his options before acting. There is a reason he is called the Onoki the Scales and the Fence Sitter," replied Tsunade with Naruto nodding.

"We will need a lead on the Akatsuki. Any ideas?" asked Naruto before a bird flew into the window with a Sharingan Eye and dropped a scroll on Tsunade's desk before flying away.

"I think we have our answer," remarked Tsunade after reading the scroll and handing to Naruto to read.

Hokage-sama, I know my actions have made me seem like I have betrayed Konoha yet again with my actions. I assure you, it is far from the truth. I have always been loyal. Ironically, it is only through my actions of seemingly betraying Konoha, that I prove to you otherwise. Killing my clan to save the village as a whole has weighed heavily on my heart, even if it was for the greater good. Not all of my kin deserved to die. I know that. But there were others who did not wish to see the innocent of my clan live through the night. They made it clear that my clan was guilty. All of them. By I knew the only way to ensure the clan's survival was through saving at least one member of the clan alive aside from myself. So I chose Sasuke. Originally, no one was to be spared that night, but I told them it would either be Sasuke or I would not go through with it. At the time, they had no choice but to accept my terms. Time was of the essence and it would only be a matter of time before my Father caught wind of my spying for Konoha. He already suspected me of killing Shisui since his death was suspicious to him. So they caved to my demands, but I suspect they used it later against my overall plan.

And I was right.

They perverted my intentions by poisoning Sasuke's mind. Instead of healing him, they chose to provoke and encourage the hatred in a way I didn't anticipate. They made sure killing me was the only thing Sasuke would think about. Granted, my own actions planted the seeds for vengeance that night, but I had hoped it would have the reverse effect on him. That Sasuke would hate me so much, his actions would be the opposite of hate. I had hoped my foolish little brother would rise above the hatred and not seek me out to end my life. Sadly, my plan backfired and everything I have done has only produced poisonous fruit.

Sasuke is broken. My vision and overall plan for him to one day end my life and redeem our clan has been destroyed beyond repair. The Sandaime broke it. Danzo broke it. The Elders broke it. Konoha at the time broke it. And more importantly, I broke it. I rescued my brother in the hopes of one day fixing it, but as I write this to you, I know any attempt is pointless and futile in its entirety. I also planned to set things in motion so that in the event the damage could not be fixed, I would reveal where to find the Akatsuki HQ, where we are currently residing.

The Akatsuki HQ in question, is in Ame. Yes, that Ame. As in Ame village where Hanzo once ruled. No, Hanzo is not the leader of the Akatsuki. A man named Pein is the leader. He was the one to defeat Hanzo in combat and take over the village with the people here worshipping him as a God. The man even calls himself one on account of his eyes being that of the legendary Rinnegan. Jiraiya was once his sensei years ago when he was here along with two others who helped in the Akatsuki's creation. However, Hanzo along with Danzo at the time, had launched a scheme, which slowly resulted in the organizations corruption into what it is now due to the death of the one named Yahiko. Out of all three of Jiraiya's three students from Ame, only one has stayed for the right reasons.

The person in question is Konan and even now, her faith in the Akatsuki is starting to crack as well. I suspect it has something to do with the man in the shadows influencing Pein. His official name among our ranks is Tobi, but in secret, he calls himself Uchiha Madara. I have doubts despite him having a Sharingan Eye behind his masked face. I also believe he was the one who set things in motion for the Kyuubi to attack Konoha that night, which resulted in the village distrusting the Uchiha Clan soon afterwards.

However, I have some doubts that this man is in fact Madara. The man does not wear the armor, he is vague regarding certain questions about his past, but the most telling is the mask he wears to hide his identity. Madara would not hide his face. It was beneath him in a sense from what I recall of my clan history of the man. He wanted people to see his face when fighting him in battle. Madara wanted his enemy to see his face when they died so it was the last thing they ever saw before the end. This false Madara also pretends to be an idiot when in the presence of others, which the real Madara would NEVER do.

Still, his skill is not to be underestimated. He has the ability to become intangible and to travel far distances using some kind of teleportation technique using his Sharingan Eye. The false Madara is also conspiring in secret with some plant like creature named Zetsu, who is not what he seems. I also suspect this creature is not being honest in its intentions with the false Madara, as I have seen some facial twitches indicating annoyance or anger when plans deviate from what it clearly wants. Even more so when the false Madara is the one speaking about doing something this Zetsu does not agree with.

I sense there is far more at work in terms of plots and plans and schemes here within the organization. The sooner the Akatsuki are defeated, the better it is for everyone. I believe they intend to use the combined might of the nine Biju to create super weapon to bring everyone to heel in some twisted perverse vision of peace. But given the various psychotic people the Akatsuki has enlisted among its more elite members, I fear the person pressing the preverbal button will show any hesitance to press it. Provided what everyone among our members has been told the truth about what the gathering and sealing of all nine Biju is for. There are too many variables, players, and the ambitions of those said players to consider what we were told to be the truth. The most horrifying thing for me however, is the possibility of the super weapon we intend to create to force peace on the world is the best case scenario. I honestly dread what is considered the worst case scenario, except it will most likely be a thousand times worse.

For now, I shall play my own part as a Missing Nin loyal to the Akatsuki. For whatever reason, Jiraiya has not revealed my secret as a spy for Konoha. Though whether he feels it is necessary or is holding onto it later to use for a later time is unknown. Still, I doubt I can play the part much longer since I was the one who vouched for Jiraiya to be brought into the organization. It won't be long before Pein and the others believe their suspicions of me are correct and take appropriate action. When the time comes, I will do what I can to cripple the Akatsuki from within. It will no doubt be the end of my life, but my illness has already set that in motion so I might as well do something befitting my what little time I have left.

That being said, I have only one request of you now Gondaime Hokage. When this over and this situation is resolved, I wish the truth of my clan's actions to be known to the public. To be known to the world. Let them know the real reason why I did what I did. That I didn't do it in my quest for power, but to save Konoha from being destroyed. That I died a loyal patriot of Konoha. Not a traitor. That my actions were designed to protect the village and create a new Uchiha Clan reborn from the ashes of the old. How various people in power at the time twisted and corrupted my designs for the future.

Konoha's most loyal servant from the shadows.

-Uchiha Itachi

"Loyal to the end," commented Naruto with Tsunade nodding.

"Like you, I was surprised Itachi was able to keep his status as our spy a secret for so long given how Jiraiya is with them. I can only assume Itachi convinced Jiraiya that his loyalties lie with the perverse vision my old teammate believes about Konoha and the damn prophecy," said Tsunade with Naruto nodding.

"That does sound like something Itachi would do. Though convincing Jiraiya is not as hard as one would initially believe. Show the man a pair of breasts and he will believe anything you say afterwards. The man's vices are his own worst enemy. Something I believe Itachi used to his advantage," said Naruto with Tsunade nodding since it was definitely something Jiraiya would do.

Knowing Itachi, he probably put Jiraiya under an extremely subtle Genjutsu of some kind to show him such things.

"When can you be ready to move out?" asked Tsunade knowing Naruto would need a strong team, if not small army to come with him to defeat all of the Akatsuki and Ame forces if necessary.

"In a few days. But I would rather wait a few weeks. Let Jiraiya think he got away with his mission to take Sasuke. Knowing the rest of the group, they will be watching for our response and I don't want them to be on guard when we finally strike. Plus, I need time to bring everyone I need into up to speed and into the fold. Kyu will be coming with us. No question. She alone could handle any opposition from Ame's own forces. But I will need Yugito, the Nibi, the other Rookies, their former senseis, and a few ANBU squads in top form to pull this off," replied Naruto with Tsunade nodding.

"Get whoever you need. I will authorize the mission," commanded Tsunade with Naruto nodding before he left.

(Akatsuki HQ-Few Weeks Later)

"Damn it Sasuke! Do the training katas the way I showed you!" commanded Jiraiya while seeing the boy was doing what he was told, but the moves were sloppy.

The damn boy had healed enough to do some extremely light training. He had to have a strict diet of certain foods to bring up his muscle mass and weight. The boy was skinny as a twig when they found him in the cell. One of the first things they did was get him a hot shower before some food went into his stomach and a nice soft bed to sleep in without any real complaints from the broody Uchiha.

Unfortunately, the next day was a different day all together. The boy demanded training right away. As if his body could handle it. Jiraiya had told him to wait a week since his body was so fragile, an Academy student could best the gaki in a fight within less than 1 minute. Naturally, Sasuke protested his assessment, saying "I need to get stronger" this! "I need to beat the loser" that! All the usual crap one would expect for Sasuke to say back regarding his situation.

How Jiraiya wanted to smack the boy for his recklessness. But Itachi just told him to just leave it alone and he would handle Sasuke himself in that regard.

"I am doing it. Just like you showed me. Its not my fault your memory of how to do it is flawed," replied Sasuke while Jiraiya scowled at the boy.

"No you are not. If you did, your form would be better. Instead, it looks like you don't have a clear thought in your head in terms of movement. Your body is still recovering, you are pushing yourself harder then you should, which is only causing further setbacks, and you are being a disrespectful little shit," Jiraiya shot back and saw Sasuke glaring back at him.

"I am an Uchiha! An elite! I will not allow my physical problems hold me back. Now teach me something useful," commanded Sasuke with Jiraiya sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

'Kami must be punishing me in some way. I just know it,' thought Jiraiya and looked at the scowling boy with disgust.

Why couldn't things be easy on him just this once?!

(A/N: YAY! An update after so long. I am trying to get the old fics done. Not easy since I am busy with real life stuff. Doing this. Doing that. Still, I have no intention of EVER abandoning ANY of my fics. Understand! All unfinished fics I have left to finish will be completed in their entirely. I HAVE SPOKEN! Until next time...PEACE!)